| A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of five amendments (H2SO4, Al2(SO4.18H2O, FeSO4.7H2O, and CaS5 and CaSO4.2H2O) on crust formation, seedling emergence, dry matter yield (DMY) of tomato and soil properties in a sodic soil from the Safford Agricultural Center. When applied in equivalent quantities (600 kg/ha S), sulfuric acid and Al-sulfate proved to be the best anti-crusting agents and gypsum the least. Tomato seedling emergence and DMY increased with addition of H2SO4 followed by gypsum. Sulfuric acid was superior in reducing ESP in 0-3 cm depth, while EC was increased with additions of all amendments. In 3-8 cm depth the amendments affected pH, EC and ESP less than at the 0-3 cm depth. DTPA extractable and plants concentrations of Zn, Fe and Mn significantly increased with the addition of various amendments, while Cu was not effected by any amendments. |
